Savings Bank Employees Near 10,000... Number of Branches Declining (Comprehensive)

Improved Images and Contactless Trends
Continuous IT Talent Recruitment for Welcome and OK
Branch Numbers Decline Due to Mobile Enhancement

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The number of employees at savings banks is on the verge of surpassing 10,000. In particular, the rise of mobile finance has led to an increase in IT personnel. On the other hand, the number of branches is decreasing.

According to the Korea Federation of Savings Banks on the 28th, as of the end of March, the total number of employees at 79 savings banks was counted at 9,665. This is an increase of 396 from 9,269 in March last year. At this rate, it is expected to exceed 10,000 by the end of this year or early next year.

The number of employees peaked at 8,955 in June 2011, just before a large-scale insolvency crisis, and then declined. By June 2014, when about 30 insolvent savings banks were liquidated, the number had decreased to 7,349. Currently, with 79 banks operating, the average number of employees per bank is 122.

With financial groups such as Shinhan and KB, foreign capital, and sound domestic capital becoming major shareholders, the industry's image has recovered, leading to significant recruitment of talent. Especially, the strengthening of mobile finance and the resulting increase in non-face-to-face (untact) transactions have boosted IT personnel hiring.

In the first half of this year, Welcome Savings Bank hired 30 new employees, 10 of whom were IT personnel. They plan to focus on IT recruitment in the second half as well. OK Savings Bank also hired 6 IT personnel out of 15 new hires in the first half. Savings banks are actively recruiting IT staff to strengthen untact services such as their own mobile applications (apps).

A representative from A Savings Bank said, “Most new customers of savings banks are coming through mobile apps,” adding, “Only those with their own apps can survive in the competition.” Since Welcome Savings Bank launched the Welcome Digital Bank app in 2018, SBI Savings Bank’s Cider Bank, OK Savings Bank’s OK Mobile Banking, and Sangsangin Savings Bank’s BangBangBang app have been released one after another.

Notably, open banking is scheduled to expand to the secondary financial sector, including savings banks and insurance, by the end of this year. Open banking refers to a service that allows users to view and transfer all accounts through a single bank or fintech (finance + technology) app. In the mobile sector, savings banks must compete on the same level as banks and fintech companies.

On the other hand, the number of branches is declining. As of the end of March, there were 192 branches, down 6 from 198 in March last year. About 50 branches were consolidated since June 2012, when there were 249 branches. Nevertheless, the number of savings bank customers has exceeded 6.34 million, an increase of 540,000 in one year, which is also attributed to mobile apps such as the joint platform SB TokTok Plus developed by the federation.

A representative from B Savings Bank explained, “The main customers of savings banks recently, aged 20 to 40, use mobile apps, and loans are made via phone or loan agents, reducing the need for branches.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.